IT & ENTERPRISE - NEWS & ANALYSIS /

India’s smartphone are set to reach 160 million by 2017: ASSOCHAM

NEW DELHI: The sales of smartphones in India are set to shoot up to 160 million in FY 2017 from 100 million in FY 2016 on the back of falling prices and shift from feature phones to smart devices, ASSOCHAM has said.

On Wednesday, the industry body also said that since smartphones are serving the needs of amateur photographers and enthusiasts, their rise is eating into the share of digital cameras which witnessed a drop in sales by more than 35% in the last one year.

Affordable smartphone segment- which includes handsets in the price of Rs 4000 to Rs 10,000 – accounts for 78% of all smartphone sales, the study pointed out.

The Assocham finding revealed that a majority of respondents believe that the biggest advantage of clicking pictures with smartphones is that they can share images instantly and close to 93% of the customers now prefer smartphone s over digital camera.

Almost 75% of the sales of mobiles and tablets come from consumers’ residing in tier-I and tier -II cities, even as the adoption of personal computer and MP3 players sales were in declining.

“The technology is changing at such a fast pace that product developers have to think ahead of times; or else the top selling products of the present times can become outdated, without the manufacturers and those dominating the market today realising it” ASSOCHAM secretary DS Rawat said in a statement..